Coll 6/67(1) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [‎271r] (546/794)

Projected Visit by Ibn Saud to Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , 1905-1906.
^ 134. Towards the end of 1905 information was received that Ibn Saud had
visited Katr (still nominally under Turkish rule) and composed certain tribal
disputes there, and that he was meditating a visit to the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and to
Muscat. This news had seriously disturbed the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi, who had Bre. lr. 513
himself been instrumental in the final extinction of Wahabi influence from Baraimi ^q? T '’
and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. in 1870, and the Sultan of Muscat, both of whom (with the 285/06.
Sheikh of Dabai) belonged to the Hinawi tribe and feared that the arrival of
Ibn Saud would be the signal for a combination against them of the remaining
Trucial Chiefs who belonged to the Ghafari tribe. Ibn Saud, moreover, was
reported to have remarked “ By God, I will explore the country belonging to my
lather and grandfather from Muscat to Jaalan.”
Views of Government of India and II. Ml. Government.
135. The Government of India were seriously disturbed as to the possible effect
on our position on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and in Muscat of a visit by Ibn Saud. p_ 285/06.
H.M. Government in the light of their views decided after consultation with the g.'ofS.
Ambassador at Constantinople that if Ibn Saud appeared on the coast and failed to Desp. 15,
give satisfactory assurances as to his intentions, he should be warned that any p^g^/og
attempt on his part to interfere in Oman or along the Arab coast, either with the
Chiefs or with their subjects, would be regarded as an unfriendl} 7 ' act and that
steps would be taken to frustrate it. Before these instructions were received, Bre. lr. 51
Sir Percy Cox had conveyed a hint in this sense to Ibn Saud through the Sheikh of 4.2.06
of Koweit (who regarded the proposed visit as a mere attempt to blackmail the 1 • 5,j5 / Ub -
coastal Chiefs). The visit, probably owing to the unsettled situation in Nejd, was
abandoned. It should be recorded that, on the instructions of H.M. Government,
PP 0 Trucial Sheikhs were in the same connection warned by the Resident that, on
the ground that general unrest prejudicial to British commercial interests on the
Coast would inevitably result, the Government of India would not view with
complacency the intrigues of any of them with Ibn Sand.
Defeat of Ibn Rashid, May 1906.
136 In May 1906 Ibn Rashid and his immediate following of 250 were Const, to
surprised and annihilated in Qasim by Ibn Saud, and Ibn Saud was reported from [ 5 ° 0 ’ 6 292 ’
Jedda in June of that year to have declared himself, consequent on his victory,
ruler of the whole “ Shark ” (East) and to have sent letters to Constantinople,
Basrah, Bagdad, the Hedjaz, and the Sherif of Mecca. Sir Nicholas O’Conor
doubted, however, whether Ibn Saud would be able to cope with the .Turks,
“ should he decide to proclaim his independence of the Sultan.
Turkish Allowances to Ibn Saud.
137 In August 1906 the Consul at Basrah reported that the allowance granted
by the Turks to Ibn Saud was by a recent arrangement paid through the Sheikh of PJL
Koweit, who deducted it from the land tax on his Fao property The Sheikh ", to
stated that the allowances paid by the lurks were JO liras a month to Ibn Saud s 3 0906
father and 200 liras and about 300 tons of rice to Ibn Rashid. In October 1906
the Resident at Bagdad reported a statement that Ibn Saud had m the past received
£T.30 a month from Turkey, with. 100 suits of clothes and some gram—an
allowance now alleged to have been discontinued.
Withdrawal of Turks from Qasim, September 1906.
138. In September 1906 inconclusive negotiations took place between the Const^to
Turkish Commander of Qasim and Ibu Saud and at the end of that year most 271 ’ 06 /
of the Turkish troops were reported to have been withdrawn from Qasim, a step
which was regarded as a definite success for Ibn Saud.
Further Overtures by Ibn Saud to H.M. Government, 1906.
139 As stated above, no reply was sent to the overtures made to H.M.
Government on behalf of Ibn Saud in 1904. Further indirect approaches having
been " though various channels during 1906 with a view to ascertaining
whether H.M. Government would be prepared to give him protection at any rate by
sea to the same extent as it was accorded to the Sheikh ol Koweit and other Arab